Fruit-gatherer.



No. 794.150. l PATENTE!) JULY 4, 1905,. C; HERTZ.

FRUIT GATHBRBR.

APPLwATIoN FILED snm'. 19, 1904.

Witwe/.mw

Nrrnn STATES Patented July 4, 1905.

.ATENT OFFICE.

FRUIT-GATHERER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,150, dated July 4,1905.

Applatill led September 19, 1904. Serial No. 225,160.

.To (LH, [1J/1.0717, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARL HERTZ, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, anda resident of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fruit-Gatherers,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for gathering fruit fromtrees; and its objects are to provide a device for gathering fruit thatwill perform its function without injury to the fruit gathered and to beeasily and rapidly set up and moved from tree to tree.

I accomplish my objects by means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, of which- Figure l is a perspective view of my device set upabout the trunk of atree; Fig. 2, a detail of the means for clasping andsupporting the same 5 Fig. 3, a bottom view of part of my device,showing my mode of fastenin the parts together Fig. 4 and Fig. 7, detais of said fastening part; Fig. 5, a view of the ribs and braces of mydevice, or more exactly of one of them; Fig. 6, a diagrammatic view thepurpose of which will more fully appear herein.

Similar letters and numerals distinguish similar parts throughout thevarious views.

My invention consists of the combination of a web having a flap, withbraces and arms and other parts fully described herein comprising meansof setting up, using, and removing a device for gathering fruit, as wellas the device itself.

It comprises a web l of flexible material, the inner edge of which issecured to a ring 2, Fig. 2, said ring bein hinged at 3 and separable at4. Ring 2 as attached thereto a plurality of arms 5 substantially atright angles to the plane of said ring and being adapted to clasp thetrunk of a tree when said trunk is encircled by said ring. Spreadingupward and outward from the said ring like an inverted umbrella, Fig. 1the said web is maintained in its shape by a plurality of ribs andbraces, one only being shown in Fi 1. in order not to obscure the viewand the etails 5o of construction thereof being shown in Fig. 5.

Reference to the drawings will show that the said ribs and braces arehinged to the arms 5, as shown in Fig. 1, and are attached at theirouter ends to the outer edge of said web, as at 7, whereby the said webis maintained in the shape shown. Said ribs being hinged, when ring 2 isopened my device becomes collapsible and may be folded into small space,it being understood that said web is separable along one of its radiifrom outer to inner edge at the part thereof adjacent to the part 4 ofinner ring. A plurality of uprightsupports 8, loosely attached to theends of ribs d, as at 7, serves to supplement the braces and ribsaforesaid in maintaining the shape desired. Fig. 5 shows in larger scalethe rib -brace and upright support. Reference to Fig. 5 shows one of theaforesaid arms 5, to which two staples a I) are attached. Through saidstaples the bent rod c works as in a hinge. To the upper part of saidrod the rib d is attached and to the lower part the brace e, said bracebeing attached to said rib at f. The support 8 is loosely attached tosaid rib through the staple g, ring h, and angular piece i at 7. Theedges of the separable part of the web along the radius aforesaid areheld together by means of cord and fasteners, Fig. 3, said fastenersbeing shown in larger scale in Figs. 4 and 7. I provide a plurality ofapertures 9 in said4 web, said apy ertures being inserted near to thering 2 and each of them having a bottomless pocket or sack 10 beneathit. Under this sack a receptacle for the fruit is placed, and in thisreeeptacle the fruit gathered by, my fruit-gatherer finds its finallodgment.y Fig. 6 shows the situation of these pockets in diagrammaticform, the web 1 being made full, so as to hang downward somewhat fromarms 5.

The operation of my device is as follows: The trunk of the tree fromwhich the fruit is to be gathered is encircled by a ring 2 by slippingthrough the opening 4. The ed es of the web are then pulled together andaced, as in Fig. 3, and laced tightly enough to cause the arms 5 to gripsaid trunk with suflicient firmness. The upright supports thereupon droptheir lower ends to the ground from their suspended ends at the outeredges of the web IOO and help to support my device in the desiredposition. The fruit is thereupon dropped from the tree into the web,which being soft and flexible does not injure it, and thereafter thefruit rolls into the said apertures and bottomless pockets 9 10 and intothe boxes provided to receive it. A flap l1 in the web is provided tocover the fastener and aforesaid line of separation in order to protectthe fruit against contact with the said fastener and also to cover saidline of separated edges. When the fruit of one tree is thus gathered,the ilap ll is thrown back, the cord unlaced from the fasteners, and thewhole device collapsed by laying the ribs and braces closely together,whereupon the web assumes a plaited or accordion shape. Thefruit-gatherer is then taken up and moved to the next tree.

Where the trunks of the trees are very large, so as to call for afruit-gatherer of large size and heavy weight, the-removal from tree totree is accomplished by loading my device on a cart, wagon, or barrow.

What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1, Afruit-gatherer, comprising in combination a ring divided in twoparts hinged together, provided with arms substantially at right anglesto the plane thereof and adapted to stand on the ground about atree-trunk and to clasp the same, a web having its inner edge attachedto said ring, and having a radial slit coincident with an opening insaid ring, a plurality of ribs, braces supporting said ribs, said ribsand braces being hinged to said arms and being attachedto the outer edgeof said web, fasteners along the edge of said slit, and a cord adaptedto cooperate with said fasteners in closing said slit, and a pluralityof supports loosely attached to the extremities of said ribs.

2. In a fruit-gatherer having a web with a radial slit, collapsiblemeans of supporting said web, comprising a plurality of arms a ring towhich said arms are iixed, ribs and braces hinged to said arms, theinner edge of said web being attached to said ring and the outer edge tosaid ribs, and a plurality of supports loosely attached to said ribs.

3. In a fruit-gatherer, the combination with a web for catching thefruit of means vof folding the same into small compass, comprising ahinged ring divided into two parts movable about said hinge, a pluralityof arms ixedto said ring, and a plurality of ribs and braces hinged tosaid arms, wherebywhen said ring is opened, said web, braces and ribslie compactly together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

CARL HERTZ.

Witnesses C. M. BILUG,

MARTIN ARoNsoHN.

